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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.
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Technology Strategy Assessment: Findings from Storage Innovations 2030 Lithium-ion Batteries
This report on accelerating the future of lithium-ion batteries is released as part of the Storage Innovations (SI) 2030 strategic initiative. The objective of SI 2030 is to develop specific and quantifiable research, development, and deployment (RD&D) pathways toward achieving the targets identified in the Long-Duration Storage Energy Earthshot, which seeks to achieve 90% cost reductions for technologies that can provide 10 hours or longer of energy storage within the coming decade. Through SI 2030, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is aiming to understand, analyze, and enable the innovations required to unlock the potential for long-duration applications in the following technologies.
Finding Of Adverse Effect and Proposed Mitigation for the Removal of Joshua Trees at Building 23-210, Mercury, Area 23, Nevada National Security Site, Nye County, Nevada
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Field Office (NNSA/NFO) recently removed two fallen Joshua trees that were part of an Accessory Resource (AR) to the former Department of Defense (DOD) Motor Pool Maintenance Compound in Mercury (Nevada State Historic Preservation Office [SHPO] Resource No. C307) on the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) in Nye County, Nevada (Figure 1). The Joshua trees were part of AR3, a landscaped feature at the entrance to the compound. There are two remaining Joshua trees at risk of falling which may require removal in the future. The NNSA/NFO is proactively consulting with the SHPO regarding the potential removal of the remaining two trees. The purpose of the undertaking is to ensure that dead or dying Joshua trees do not cause damage to the remaining landscape elements, nor injury to NNSS employees. The NNSA/NFO will implement this undertaking in accordance with the Programmatic Agreement between the National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Field Office and the Nevada State Historic Preservation Officer Regarding Modernization and Operational Maintenance of the Nevada National Security Site, at Mercury in Nye County, Nevada, hereafter referred to as the Mercury PA. Building 23-210 was the DOD’s motor vehicle maintenance compound constructed in 1951. The compound included its own repair shop and fuel station. The town of Mercury and the immediate surrounding area have been formally determined eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (National Register, NRHP) as the Mercury Historic District (MHD, SHPO Resource No. D230) under Criteria A and C for their importance in supporting nuclear testing and scientific research from 1951 through 1992. The former DOD Motor Pool Compound was identified as a contributing element to the MHD in a 2018 architectural survey of the district (Reno et al. 2018) and recorded on a Nevada Architectural Resource Assessment (ARA) form (Reno et al. 2017). The foundation for Building 23-210 was also identified in Appendix C of the Mercury PA as a Category III contributing element with three contributing ARs. Category III properties are those that may include elements for which there are several representatives in the MHD, such as foundations, and those elements which possess characteristics that are not unique to the MHD and are commonly found in other non-NNSS facilities. The former DOD compound, which is identified by the foundation for the Building 23-210 and its ARs, is a historic property for the purposes of compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and subject to the stipulations of the Mercury PA.
User Stories for PV Operations and Maintenance: Findings from the 2024 PVPMC Workshop
At the 2024 Photovoltaic (PV) Performance Modeling Workshop we collected user stories related to PV system monitoring, analytics, and operations and maintenance (O&M). In this context, user stories describe challenges with current practices and tools or imagining opportunities for improvements. From these user stories, we identified several near-term opportunities to improve photovoltaic system monitoring, analytics and O&M.
Using Object Detection to Train Better Image Classifiers: Unexpected Findings from Validation of a Large, Synthetic International Nuclear Safeguards Dataset
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Finding Temporal Dense Regions of Temporal Graphs
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Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Damage Assessment After Typhoon Mawar: Findings and Recommendations for Resilient PV on Guam
A team from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) visited Guam in August 2023 to assess failure modes of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems after Typhoon Mawar and to provide recommendations to increase the resilience of PV systems on Guam. The team visited 30 systems: commercial and utility scale, and rooftop and ground-mounted. The team observed systems with no apparent damage, as well as systems that were completely lost. Systems fared very well overall. The average failure rate of rooftop systems was 18%, with a median failure rate of 2%, meaning the few systems that suffered total loss pulled up the average. Only eight 8 of the 25 rooftop systems suffered more than 5% damage. All ground-mounted systems suffered less than 0.5% damage, aside from a carport that lost 16% of its modules. PV systems at Andersen Air Force Base suffered 5% damage on average, with a median system failure of 0.6%. In almost all cases, failures were the result of: (1) Inadequate clamping of the module frame to the mount, (2) Module mounting clamps rotating out of underlying support rail (i.e., T-bolt that rotates free at less than 60 degrees of rotation), (3) An object hitting the panel resulting in a fracture, and in some cases leading to a cascading failure of several more panels, and (4) Excessive tilt angle (in Guam, greater than 5 degrees can be a risk due to wind speed, and power production trade-offs are insignificant).
Finding of adverse effect and proposed mitigation for the removal of three primary resources and twenty-four accessory resources within the mercury historic district, area 23, nevada national security site, nye county, nevada
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Field Office (NNSA/NFO) proposes the removal of three primary resources and 24 accessory resources in Mercury on the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) in Nye County, Nevada. The majority of the resources are concrete pads that have previously been recorded as either primary resources or accessory resources thereof within the Mercury Historic District (MHD). They represent the former locations of environmental support program buildings including a greenhouse (MHD Resource C312), warehouses (Resource C293), offices (Resource C314), dormitories (Resource C298), and two of unknown purpose (Resource C292). The other resources include a buried storage tank and sidewalks.
Community Solar for All: Key Findings for State Energy Offices and State LIHEAP Agencies from the Inclusive Shared Solar Initiative
Despite the significant potential for community solar to reduce energy burdens and costs, it has largely remained out of reach for low-income households. While the U.S. community solar market has grown considerably over the last decade, as of December 2022 low to moderate-income (LMI) community solar represented just 2% of the overall market. Effective community solar policies and program decisions can help address this dynamic. State laws, policies, and program rules are critical to the development of community solar programs and projects that are affordable for and cater to the needs of LMI utility customers, who often face disproportionately high energy costs relative to their incomes. This report explores how two sets of state agencies in particular — State and Territory Energy Offices and State Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) Agencies —can help to streamline and prioritize the delivery of affordable and accessible shared solar. State Energy Offices are often involved in community solar policy and program design from inception, whether by supporting the enactment of enabling legislation or informing the development of program rules and regulations. State Energy Offices may also be charged with administering or overseeing the implementation of statewide community solar programs and, through the U.S. State Energy Program and other sources of funding, can provide resources and loans that enhance community, developer, and utility confidence and capacity to build, host, and derive value from projects. Relatedly, as implementers of federal LIHEAP block grants, State LIHEAP Agencies have a deep understanding of the needs of lower-income households and can help inform the design and delivery of community solar programs.
Report series: finding of effect and mitigation documentation for the mercury solar photovoltaic array and battery energy storage system, area 23, nevada national security site, nye county, nevada
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Field Office (NNSA/NFO) proposes to install solar photovoltaic (PV) power generation arrays and an associated battery energy storage system (BESS) for the town of Mercury at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) in Nye County, Nevada (Figure 1). The purposes of the development of this facility are to support long-term efforts to modernize Mercury and to provide energy-resilient infrastructure and address climate adaptation needs. Because it is within the boundary of the Mercury Historic District (MHD), it is subject to the terms of the Programmatic Agreement Between the National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Field Office and the Nevada State Historic Preservation Officer Regarding Modernization and Operational Maintenance of the Nevada National Security Site, at Mercury in Nye County, Nevada (hereafter referred to as the Mercury PA). An identification and evaluation report prepared for this undertaking determined that a contributing element to the MHD, the Mercury airstrip (26NY15777), is within the APE (Haynes 2024). The Mercury airstrip was developed following the closure of Camp Desert Rock in 1957 and used until late 1963 or 1964 when the Camp Desert Rock Airport was renovated, and the Mercury Bypass road constructed. The town of Mercury and the immediate surrounding area have been determined eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) as the MHD (SHPO Resource No. D230) under Criteria A and C for its importance in supporting nuclear testing and scientific research from 1951 through 1992 (Reed 2019). Originally recorded in 2016, 26NY15777 was determined individually not eligible for listing in the NRHP because it lacked sufficient integrity to convey its significance (Palmer 2016). It was subsequently determined in 2018 to be a contributing element of the MHD in an architectural survey of the district (Palmer 2018) and identified in Appendix C of the Mercury PA as a Category I contributing element. However, as per Stipulation IV.B.2, because the airstrip had already been formally evaluated and determined not to be individually eligible for the NRHP in consultation with the SHPO, this categorization was an error. NNSA/NFO reported this to the SHPO in Haynes 2024 and the SHPO concurred on June 11, 2024 (Reed). Accordingly, the airstrip is a Category II Property for the purposes of complying with the Mercury PA. The Mercury airstrip is a historic property for the purposes of compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and subject to the stipulations of the Mercury PA.
What is a blind geothermal system and how can you find one using geophysics?
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Finding Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Alternates for Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF) using Machine Learning (ML)
Poster presentation
Connector Failures Field and Lab Findings: Macro-level Forensics
5 min panel presentation for the EPRI connector workshop.
Applying Linear Optics from Closed Orbits Modulation for finding beam-based alignment of harmonic sextupoles
A fast and accurate beam-based alignment (BBA) method for harmonic sextupoles has been devel oped at NSLS-II using Linear Optics from Closed Orbit Modulation (LOCOM). The approach excites the beam with simultaneous sine-wave signals at two fast correctors, chosen with an appropriate phase advance to span the full betatron phase space. This strategy suppresses systematic errors from hysteresis, while additional errors from orbit drift and power-supply calibration are minimized by the short measurement time (a few minutes) and reliance solely on beam-based current-to-field conver sion of the sextupoles, with hysteresis explicitly included. Simulations indicate that Linear Optics from Closed Orbits (LOCO) combined with 0.5 mm local orbit bumps can resolve relative sextupole field offsets (∆k₂) with precision better than 10% of k₂, reflecting to beam-based alignment (BBA) accuracy finer than 50 µm. Moreover, employing machine-learning-optimized local orbit bumps en hances sextupole-induced quadrupole signals in a deterministic manner and maintains orbit stability under large sextupole strength variations (±40%). The proposed method is experimentally validated through proof-of-principle measurements at NSLS-II, demonstrating its potential as a fast, precise, and robust tool for harmonic sextupole alignment.
Finding Goldilocks models by fighting the gauge problem
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Findings on subtask 1.6 – basin electric carbon storage research project: novel monitoring techniques
The Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) led a study to validate novel and emerging technologies as commercial monitoring techniques for application in carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) injection operations. This applied research was conducted at Basin Electric Power Cooperative’s (Basin Electric’s) active CO 2 -injection operations in Beulah, North Dakota, in two phases. The EERC previously completed a set of baseline (preinjection) activities in Phase 1, which included 1) design of an automated, integrated, modular (AIM) monitoring station; 2) time-lapse electromagnetic (EM) field surveys; 3) drone-based surveillance studies; 4) time-lapse monitoring with seismic methods; and 5) advanced wellbore-monitoring methods.
Finding the missing pieces: filling gaps that impede the translation of omics data into models
High-throughput omics technologies such as DNA sequencing have made the sequencing and computational assembly of microbial genomes recovered from the environment relatively routine. Computational inference of the protein products encoded by these genomes, and the associated biochemical functions, should enable the accurate prediction and modeling of microbial metabolism, organismal interactions, and ecosystem processes. However, a lack of scalable, probabilistic protein annotation tools limits the full potential of modeling for understanding the metabolism and biogeochemical cycles of microbial communities. Our approach to improve inference of protein annotations and metabolic models relied on learning from and emulating expert manual curation, leveraging software engineering and data science best practices to scale up the throughput and accuracy of annotations and metabolic model construction, building software to objectively evaluate different annotation strategies, and more closely linking the protein annotation and metabolic model inference process. Outcomes of this research include several improved or new computational tools, including DRAM (Distilled and Refined Annotation of Metabolism) for annotating microbial genomes with protein function and metabolic traits, CAMPER (Curated Annotations for Microbial Polyphenol Enzymes and Reactions) for annotating key polyphenol metabolisms, EC-Bench for comprehensive and unbiased benchmarking of annotation tools, and several apps available via the DOE Systems Biology Knowledgebase (KBase) for building genome-scale metabolic models. We demonstrate that these tools allow us to scalably annotate and understand thousands of genomes for microbial communities from a variety of systems and test cases, including rivers, thawing permafrost, and gut microbiomes. All of these computational tools are available as open-source software, with most broadly and easily accessible to the scientific community via KBase apps.
REopt Key Findings Presentation [Slides]
Deck developed to assist Shelter Island in understanding the results of their REopt ETIPP work.